Climate change. It is one of the most polarizing and critical topics in popular culture right now. Ohio State EcoCAR was fortunate to spend time with two climate change thought leaders this fall: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island, and Cardinal Peter Turkson from Ghana.

Senator Whitehouse visited the team at the Center for Automotive Research on Oct. 31, 2015, as part of a multiday trip through Ohio to see sustainable energy research in action. Whitehouse serves on the Committee of Environment and Public Works, co-founded/co-chairs the Bicameral Task Force on Climate Change and addresses the Senate weekly with his “Climate Change: Time to Wake Up” speeches. Whitehouse’s trip to Ohio was documented in his Senate address on Nov. 10, 2015, which can be found here (at the 12:30 mark, you may see some familiar faces!).

Cardinal Turkson is a Roman Catholic Bishop, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and is heavily involved in the Pope’s current environmental efforts. While in Columbus, Ohio, he spent time as a guest of The Ohio State University School of Environment and Natural Resources and met with a group of students and faculty including five Ohio State EcoCAR team members. Turkson and the team discussed EcoCAR 3 and the future of automotive sustainability in our time together on Nov. 2, 2015.

In this video, team members M.J. Yatsko, Andrew Huster and Nick Tomczak share how they felt about spending time with two prominent environmental figures. You can watch the OSU Impacting Climate Change video here: